Secrets of the Medjai Virtual Season Episode 2 - The Scarab's Revenge
by J-R Virtual Seasons
Summary: Alex must call upon all his mental and physical strength as he faces the seemingly impossible task of saving Yanit and defeating the Scarab once and for all.
1. Chapter 1

Alex stared up at the Scarab, and at the terrified Yanit dangling from the creature's mandibles. He forced himself to stay as still as possible, waiting for the monster to speak again.

'Everything comes to he who waits,' the Scarab chuckled. 'And I have waited so very long for this moment. You are mine now, boy. I know you will do _anything_ to stop me from ripping this girl in half. So, let's get started. Walk back to the cave entrance – slowly, mind – and reach onto the shelf of rock to the top left of the fissure.'

Alex did as he was told. As he reached onto the shelf, his hand closed around cold metal.

'What do you feel?' said the Scarab.

'I think it's a pair of manacles,' said Alex.

'Manacles, correct,' said the Scarab. 'Far less elaborate than your own, but far more suited to your position in our little drama. Bring them over here.'

Alex took hold of the rusty manacles and walked slowly back towards the Scarab.

'Stop there!' the Scarab commanded. 'Now, put them on.'

Alex adopted a dark expression, but he quickly moved to follow the creature's instructions. He tried to fit one of the manacle cuffs over the Manacle of Osiris, but he found that the mechanism would not lock into place.

'This won't fit over the Manacle of Osiris,' said Alex.

'How is that my problem?' the Scarab snarled. 'Make it fit, or Yanit gets bisected!'

Alex forced the rusty cuff around his lower arm just below the Manacle of Osiris. As he slammed the locking mechanism into place, he cried out in pain, anger and frustration.

'There!' he said, snarling himself now. 'It's on!'

'Good,' said the Scarab. 'Very good. Now, put your hands behind your back before you attach the second cuff.'

Alex did so. With some difficulty, he locked the cuff onto his left wrist. Both his hands were now trapped behind his back.

'Now turn around, very slowly, to show me that you have done the job properly!'

Seething with pent-up emotion, Alex slowly turned a full circle to show the Scarab the result of his handiwork.

'There now,' said the Scarab, 'that wasn't so difficult, was it? To see you like this before me, boy... oh, I can't tell you how happy it makes me! And it's all thanks to your charming young friend here. How fortunate I was to catch her napping.'

'There's no honour in capturing a sleeping Medjai,' said Alex.

'Honour is for fools!' the Scarab hissed. 'Now, kneel before Scarab.'

Alex stared up at the now familiar sight of Yanit in the creature's mandibles. He deliberately kept his gaze trained on the scene for several seconds, to etch the picture into the front of his mind, before he lowered his head and dropped to his knees on the floor of the cave.

'Yes!' the Scarab crowed. 'See how the Supreme Medjai abases himself before me! Are you disappointed in your hero, Yanit? Did you think I could possibly break him this quickly?'

'He... he's not finished with you yet!' Yanit managed to choke out.

'Is that right?' the Scarab laughed. 'You're even more of a fool than he is!'

'Move,' Alex muttered under his breath. 'Move.'

'I expect you're wondering how I managed to find your secret base,' said the Scarab. 'I am cleverer than you ever imagined possible, boy! It was the simplest thing in the world to locate you. Shall I tell you how I did it?'

'Move,' Alex said again, his voice slightly louder now. 'Move!'

'I followed the Minotaur!' the Scarab declared in delight. 'I followed him all the way from Morocco! I secreted myself in your dormitory block, and I waited for the opportune moment. And oh, what an opportunity presented itself to me! I heard every word that passed between your friends Fadil and Yanit here, and so I learned that she would be the perfect bait to lure you into my clutches.'

'Move,' Alex said, his voice now clearer and stronger than it had sounded for some time. 'Move!'

'This is to be a simple transaction, boy – your life for hers,' the Scarab continued. 'It will be a slow and agonising process, but when we finally reach the end of our journey together, Yanit will bear witness to your fate. She can then go back and tell the other Medjai what has happened to their precious leader, and what will happen to any of them who are foolish enough to cross the path of the Scarab! The horrors I have in mind for you will be excruciating to experience, boy. By the time I'm through with you, you will beg me for death! But first, I want to hear you beg me for her life!'

Alex's head remained bowed. He said nothing.

'Why do you delay?' the Scarab barked. 'Beg me for her life, or I end it right now, and then I end yours! Do not think you can defy me, boy! Speak, now!'

Alex snapped his head up to stare at the Scarab; his eyes seemed to be alive with fire.

'Move!' Alex yelled. 'I command you to move!'

The Scarab screamed in agony as his massive mandibles were suddenly wrenched sideways by an unseen force; under the assault, he fell backwards and crashed to the floor of the cave.

Alex saw Yanit tumbling through the air. In the blink of an eye, he jumped to his feet and placed himself directly underneath her. As he could not raise his arms to catch her, he simply allowed her to land on top of him. The pair of them collapsed to the ground and rolled over and over, ending up in a heap against the far wall.

* * *

Alex squirmed his way back onto his knees.

'Yanit!' he hissed. 'Are you okay?'

Yanit could only manage a groan in reply, but she reached out and squeezed his knee in an attempt to reassure him. Alex gave her a relieved smile.

'Just try to stay down and keep quiet, okay?' he said. 'I'm going to take care of the Scarab for good!'

Alex jumped to his feet and ran across the cave, to the point where the Scarab was already hauling itself back up. Using the force of his run-up, Alex took a huge leap into the air and then twisted his body in mid-flight. He slammed his feet squarely into the Scarab's chest; the creature roared as it flew backwards and crashed into the far wall.

Alex deliberately fell into a crouch as he came back down to earth. With a tremendous effort, he pulled his legs backwards through his looped arms so that his hands were now in front of him. He raised them in front of his face, flexed the muscles in his arms and pulled his wrists as far apart as they would go.

'Break!' said Alex, fixing his gaze firmly on the central link of the chain between the manacles. 'Break, I command you!'

The link snapped with a metallic clink, and Alex's arms swung free. Just as he was celebrating his success, one of the Scarab's forelimbs crashed into his chest and sent him flying across the cave.

'You can never defeat the Scarab, boy!' the monster snarled. 'Now I shall make you pay for defying me!'

The Scarab scuttled towards Yanit, who was still looking much the worse for wear. However, when she saw the creature approaching her, she jumped into a crouch and swept her right leg into the path of her attacker. The Scarab growled and yelled as it stumbled and fell. Pleased with the success of her attack, Yanit took a wonky leap at the floored creature and slammed her feet into its side. The Scarab scudded across the floor, but it took the time to grab Yanit by one ankle on its way. Yanit screamed as she was dragged along with the monster.

Before the Scarab could check its momentum and attempt to get itself into a less vulnerable position, Alex was on top of it. He pounded his fists against the creature's armour-plated thorax, causing the rock-hard scales to buckle and shatter. The Scarab screamed in agony and lashed out with all six of its limbs, causing Yanit to be flung across the cave. She hit the wall and crumpled, before flopping into a heap on the floor.

'You have lost, boy!' the Scarab hissed through its sufferings. 'No matter what you do to me now, you have lost! She is surely dead!'

'I don't think so,' said Alex. 'Medjai do not die easily!'

With that, Alex flipped himself off the creature's front and onto the floor, where he proceeded to grab the Scarab by two legs and then hurl it into the wall. More of the creature's armour-plating was shattered; it had begun to ooze greenish slime from a multitude of grievous wounds.

The Scarab attempted a headlong dash at Alex, but it was hurled back with tremendous force. Again and again Alex pummelled the monster for all he was worth, and again and again the Scarab let out roars and snarls of agony as it was slowly but surely reduced to a shattered heap.

'You think... you have won?' the Scarab choked out. 'You think... you can do away with me... for good? You seek... to destroy... the mighty Scarab? Foolish boy... it... it cannot be done!'

Using the last of its energy, the Scarab hurled itself towards the unmoving figure of Yanit. Alex threw out his hands before him in a gesture of power; the Scarab was held fast. Alex swept his arms upwards; the Scarab crashed into the ceiling. Alex quickly ran out of the way; the Scarab fell to the floor of the cave and lay there, motionless.

'A cup without a handle is a bowl; a handle without a cup is useless... the power lies within...' Alex said to himself, staring at the Manacle of Osiris on his wrist. 'From stone you came; to stone you must return!'

A beam of golden light shot from the Manacle and enveloped the Scarab. Ever so slowly, the creature began to shrink. Alex grunted and groaned under the strain, and was forced to drop to his knees again. He saw that Yanit had dragged herself up onto all fours and was watching him, an expression of awe and concern on her face.

'Alex!' she called. 'Don't let it sap all your energy! Don't let the creature take you with it!'

'I... I have to do this!' Alex yelled through his exertions. 'I have to finish it now!'

Alex kept his eyes glued to the shrinking form of the Scarab until he was sure that it had become as small as it was going to get. With one final yell of exertion, he wrenched his right arm aside and the beam of light was extinguished. Alex collapsed to the floor in a heap. He looked up to see the Scarab Amulet arcing its way through the air in Yanit's direction.

'Quick – catch it, catch it!' Alex called to her. 'We mustn't lose it!'

Yanit trained her eyes on the tumbling artefact, hurled herself to one side, extended her left arm and caught the Scarab Amulet. Alex dragged himself to his feet, stumbled over to Yanit and collapsed on the ground next to her. She handed him the object she had caught.

'The Scarab Amulet,' Alex said. 'I can't tell you what a relief it is to see it looking like this again! I'm gonna get the damned thing encased in concrete or something, and I'm gonna personally make sure that no one ever releases the Scarab from it again!'

Alex slipped the artefact into his pocket. He then turned back to Yanit, who was already in the process of throwing her arms around his neck.

'I knew it,' she exhaled into his chest. 'I knew you'd come and I knew you'd save me. Even when he had me up there and he was slicing into me with his mandibles, I was never in fear of my life because I knew you'd come for me.'

'That must've been a nice feeling,' Alex laughed. 'I was in fear for both of our lives until about thirty seconds ago!'

'Oh, no,' said Yanit, 'that was impossible, Alex... not with you here.'

Yanit drew backwards slightly and looked into Alex's eyes. He met her gaze, and they both smiled. Then Yanit suddenly winced and clutched her side.

'Is it still bleeding?' Alex asked. 'Let me take a look.'

Yanit reached down and gingerly pulled her top up to the level of her chest.

'Oh my God, he cut right into you on both sides!' Alex said shrilly. 'Wow, that's nasty... but I don't think it's bleeding right now.'

'I'll live,' said Yanit, lowering her top. 'Of course, tactically speaking, you should have let him kill me, rather than take a chance on your own life to save me. My life for yours would never have been worth the sacrifice. You're the future of the Medjai Order, Alex – I'm not.'

'That's just where you're wrong, Yanit,' said Alex. 'You see, there's something really important that I want to ask you. I came to your room to talk to you about it, when I found the note from the Scarab.'

'I thought you turned up here pretty quickly,' said Yanit.

'You should thank Fadil for that, really,' said Alex. 'He told me there was a good chance you might still be awake, 'cause you and he were just talking.'

'So we were,' said Yanit. 'That seems an age ago now, but it can't really be more than a couple of hours!'

'But anyway, what I was gonna tell you... I mean, what I was gonna ask you... argh!'

Alex winced and clutched at his chest. Yanit's eyes opened wide in alarm.

'It's your turn now,' she said. 'Show me what's going on under there.'

Alex lifted his shirt to reveal extensive bruising to his upper body. Yanit gasped; Alex shrugged.

'It happened when the Scarab attacked me just after I broke the chain on the manacles,' he said. 'I've been in agony ever since, but that didn't matter while I still had to save you and defeat him!'

'Well, it certainly matters now!' said Yanit. 'You've probably got a few broken ribs – we need to have the doctor take a look at you as soon as we get back.'

'You're more urgent,' said Alex. 'We don't know if those cuts need stitching.'

'Okay, so we'd both better get back as quickly as we can,' said Yanit. 'We'll help each other to walk.'

'I brought a horse,' said Alex. 'He's tethered to the rope bridge. It's not far.'

Slowly and painfully, Alex and Yanit made their way back to the bridge. Alex calmed the restless horse as he untied its bridle from the wooden post, then he collapsed to the floor again with his right arm clutched to his side.

'You'd better let me take the reins,' said Yanit. 'I don't think you can really sit up straight; you must lean on my back, okay?'

'Yes... yes, okay,' said Alex. 'I guess that's the best plan.'

Yanit held out her hand, Alex grasped it, and by their combined efforts they both made it into position on the horse. Yanit took the reins and guided the animal back across the bridge.

* * *

Alex gripped the edge of his bed and winced as the Medjai physician pulled the last of the strapping tight around his body.

'That should do for now,' said the physician, 'but tomorrow you must go into Cairo and have an x-ray at the hospital, so we can see how many ribs are broken and whether we need to take any further action, or if we can just leave them to heal on their own.'

'Okay, Doc,' said Alex. 'Thanks.'

'Now I must bandage your wrists,' said the physician, 'then you must go to bed and try to get as much rest as you can.'

Alex nodded, then his expression brightened as he caught sight of Yanit hovering in the doorway. The physician turned and saw her too; he adopted a disapproving look.

'I told you to go to bed, young lady,' he said sternly. 'Doctor's orders.'

'On the other hand, I want her to come in and talk with me while you bandage my wrists,' said Alex. 'Supreme Medjai's orders. You've just been trumped, Doc.'

Yanit grinned, and entered the room. The physician scowled, but said no more. As he started preparing his bandages, Yanit came to sit on the bed next to Alex.

'That's a lot of strapping,' she remarked.

'I have a lot of broken ribs,' said Alex. 'Well, probably. I can tell you're not wearing _your_ strapping.'

'I had to take it off,' said Yanit. 'It got in the way of the bandages. I look like Imhotep under here!'

'Did you get any stitches?'

'One or two; it's not so bad. But I have to admit, I do feel kinda weird without my strapping.'

'You shouldn't,' said Alex. 'I think you look much better without it.'

Yanit gave him a look; he reddened slightly.

'What I mean is... well, this is one of the important things I wanted to talk to you about, actually,' said Alex.

'How many important things are on the list?' asked Yanit.

'Three,' said Alex. 'And one of them is that I hope you'll soon decide to stop disguising yourself as a boy. You shouldn't have to pretend, Yanit – you _don't_ have to pretend. Four of us know about it now – me and Ardeth and Fadil and the Doc – so it's not much of a secret anymore!'

'I... I want to stop,' said Yanit. 'But not everyone will be so ready to accept the idea of a female Medjai... what about all these Elders that are supposed to be coming to your investiture?'

'The fact that some people won't agree with it isn't a reason that it shouldn't happen,' said Alex. 'Anyway, it _has_ happened and there's nothing they can do about it! The world is changing, and that's a good thing... well, mostly. In my Medjai Order, men and women are going to have equal opportunities... and you can help to pave the way, if you want.'

'Oh, Alex,' Yanit sighed, placing a hand on his knee. 'Maybe the world really will be a better place when you've finished with it.'

'I sure hope so,' Alex grinned at her.

'What are the other two important things?'

'They... well, they can wait 'til the morning.'

'Quite right,' said the physician. 'I have finished dressing your wrists, Alex – they will heal over the next few days. I am very concerned by your ribs, however. When you've had a good night's sleep, it's straight to the hospital with you, okay?'

'Yes, Doc,' said Alex. 'And thanks again. Sorry we had to wake you up in the middle of the night.'

'That's all right,' said the physician. 'It's part of my job really.'

He packed up his equipment and started to leave the room. When he turned and saw that Yanit was still sitting on Alex's bed, he frowned.

'I'll go back to my room in a minute,' said Yanit. 'I just... we need to say goodnight properly first.'

The doctor took the hint, and went on his way. Alex put his hand on top of Yanit's, where it still rested on his knee.

'Will you come and see me tomorrow, as soon as you're awake and with it?' Alex asked.

'What about the hospital?' said Yanit.

'I need to talk to you first,' said Alex. 'I need us to discuss the other two important things. I wish we could do it now, but the Doc's right – we both need to get some sleep!'

'Okay,' said Yanit, smiling warmly at Alex. 'I'll be back in the morning, as soon as I wake up. Goodnight.'

'Goodnight, Yanit.'

'And thank you,' she added, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek, 'for saving my life.'

'You're welcome,' said Alex. 'I could never have done anything else.'

'I suppose you would've done exactly the same thing for any Medjai who'd been taken by the Scarab, wouldn't you?'

'No, I wouldn't. I mean, I'd have done _something_ , obviously... and the end result would've been the same... hopefully. But I wouldn't have done _exactly_ the same thing for any Medjai that I did for you.'

Yanit smiled, stroked Alex's cheek, jumped to her feet and left the room. Alex lay back on his bed, wincing in pain as his back touched the mattress. Tut made a few chattering noises, and snuggled up next to Alex's right hip. Alex reached down and stroked his pet.

'Am I barking up the wrong tree here, Tut?' Alex asked the mongoose. 'Or are we on the verge of something?'

Tut's response was non-committal and sleepy.

'Yeah, I guess you're right, buddy,' said Alex. 'We'll have to wait 'til the morning to find out.'


	2. Chapter 2

Alex and Yanit slept long into the next morning. When Yanit finally reappeared in Alex's room, she found him sitting on the edge of his bed with the end of his chest strapping in one hand, obviously in the process of removing the last few yards from his body.

'Hiya,' Yanit grinned at him.

'Oh... hi,' said Alex, casting the last of his strapping aside. 'Sorry, I... I should've done this in the bathroom, really. I feel embarrassed that you've turned up to find me in such a state of undress.'

'You shouldn't,' said Yanit, looking him up and down. 'I think you look much better without it.'

Alex laughed in embarrassment, and rubbed the back of his head.

'You can see the significance of what I've done, can't you?' he said. 'I couldn't believe how little pain I was in when I woke up a few minutes ago, and now it looks like the bruising's almost completely disappeared too! And just look at my wrists – no sign of the marks from the manacles! I don't need to go to hospital at all – I've almost totally healed overnight!'

'So I see,' said Yanit. 'That's very impressive, Alex. Is it some kind of Supreme Medjai power?'

'I think it must be, yeah,' Alex grinned. 'Osiris told me I'd discover a whole bunch of new ones, and I guess accelerated healing is the first! I wish I could, like, absorb your wounds and suffer them for you until they heal. Hey, maybe I _can_! Do you want to try it?'

'Thanks, but no,' said Yanit, smiling. 'I really don't feel too bad this morning, and we don't want to start messing around with your powers before we fully understand them. Have you tried standing yet? You might not be quite so completely healed as you seem.'

Alex jumped to his feet, stretched out his arms, took several deep breaths, and then performed a series of back-flips across the room. He landed deftly in front of Yanit, and grinned at her. She laughed in delight.

'That's amazing, Alex!' she enthused. 'You're amazing! And I don't just mean because you're the Supreme Medjai and you can do all that full-on stuff – you're mostly amazing because you're you!'

With that, she threw her arms around him and leaned her head against his chest. Swallowing a gulp, Alex hugged her in return.

'You're pretty amazing yourself, Yanit,' he said. 'Do you have any idea how brave you are, coming here to take your place as a Medjai warrior even knowing the opposition you'd be likely to face?'

'Even my father told me I couldn't be a Medjai,' said Yanit, 'and he's the only person I've ever felt truly close to in my life... until now.'

'Yeah,' Alex laughed, 'I guess you and I are pretty close at the moment, huh?'

'We're closer than close, Alex,' said Yanit, tightening her grip on his body. 'We're closer than you ever could imagine us.'

Fadil chose this moment to appear in the doorway of Alex's room. When he saw the sight of Alex and Yanit in a close embrace, Yanit clinging to Alex's naked upper body like a limpet, he felt a stab of jealousy and his brows knitted into a frown. However, he very quickly took control of his feelings and let a smile spread across his face.

'We should talk about those other two important things now,' said Yanit.

'Yeah,' said Alex, 'we should.'

They drew apart enough to look into each other's eyes, but they did not break physical contact. Yanit smiled at Alex, and Alex smiled back. They stood there like statues for almost twenty seconds.

'Oh, for goodness sake!' Fadil's voice cried out from the doorway. 'Just kiss, you blockheads!'

Alex and Yanit broke eye contact and stared in surprise at their visitor. Fadil laughed, and came to sit on the arm of one of Alex's comfy chairs.

'Look, guys, I'm sorry to be so blunt,' Fadil continued, 'but if you stand there like that forever then the entire Medjai Order is going to come to a grinding standstill! You both feel the same way – I don't think either of you can accuse me of breaking a confidence by revealing that under these circumstances – so for God's sake, just pull yourselves together and become a couple right now!'

Alex and Yanit both smiled at Fadil, then they looked into each other's eyes again. With one accord, they pressed their lips together. After a few tentative seconds of uncertain probing, they started to get into it.

Sixty seconds later, Fadil had started to feel more than a little awkward.

* * *

Alex, Yanit and Fadil were sitting in Alex's breakout area.

'Okay,' said Alex, 'so that's two of the three important things already talked about.'

'Clearly you guys are a couple now,' said Fadil, 'but I am unaware which of the other two important things you have yet to mention to Yanit, Alex.'

'It's the one directly involving you, Fadil,' said Alex. 'That's why I'm glad that all three of us are here.'

'It sounds intriguing,' said Yanit. 'Please, do elucidate.'

'I'm forming a Supreme Council to help me in my role as Supreme Medjai,' said Alex. 'I'm never going to make a decision without consulting them first.'

'How many people are to be on this council?' Yanit asked.

'Three – me, Fadil and you... at least, I hope so. If I have an idea and at least one of you agrees with me, I'll know it's probably a good idea. If I have an idea and you both tell me it's a load of garbage, I'll know it's probably a load of garbage.'

'Alex, that's an excellent idea,' said Yanit, 'and it proves beyond all doubt that you deserve to have supreme power over all of us, because you're not prepared to use it entirely by your own authority. I accept my place on the Supreme Council with eagerness and gratitude.'

'You see, Fadil?' Alex grinned. 'That's the right answer!'

'Did you make the decision to come alone to rescue me without consulting the Council?' Yanit asked. 'I mean, I wasn't here, so...'

'We deputised Ardeth to provide the casting vote, as I believed that Alex should not go alone,' Fadil explained. 'As I'm sure you've already worked out, Ardeth agreed with Alex... and they were right. And while we're on the subject, that's actually why I came here to see you this morning.'

'Oh yeah?' said Alex.

'Yeah,' said Fadil. 'Alex, I was wrong when I told you not to go after the Scarab alone. I should have trusted you. I'd already said it myself – you can fight monsters with your eyes closed!'

'Or with my hands tied behind my back,' said Alex, smiling dryly.

'The way I see it, I have proven myself unworthy to sit on the Supreme Council,' Fadil continued. 'If you wish me to resign my position, I shall do so readily.'

'Shut up, you idiot!' Alex laughed. 'Of course I don't want you to resign your position! Like I told you last night, I want to hear what you think and I know you won't be afraid to tell me. I need you, Fadil, and I don't want to hear any more talk about you not being on the Supreme Council, okay?'

'I wish I had such faith in myself as you seem to have in me, Alex,' Fadil sighed. 'It was not only your superior Medjai skills that caused me to feel threatened by you when you first came here.'

'You're not gonna start talking about the communal shower again, are you?' Yanit giggled.

'No,' said Fadil. 'In my secret heart, I knew the extent of my own shortcomings before I went anywhere near that shower. I failed to complete my preliminary training to a level my father was happy with before he died. I failed to save my little brother from being injured at the hands of Imhotep, which caused my mother to cry. I -'

'Stop it, Fadil!' Alex cut in. 'There's no point in beating yourself up about things that have happened in the past – you just have to accept them for what they are, and learn what you can from them.'

'Also, you mustn't judge yourself by others' opinions of you,' said Yanit. 'If I'd listened to _my_ father, I never would have become a Medjai... not because he didn't love me or he didn't believe in me, but because his outlook on life was firmly stuck in the past. I knew he was wrong about female Medjai warriors, so I didn't let it affect my decision to come here. Do you really believe that your father was right about you?'

'No,' said Fadil. 'I believe that he vastly underestimated me.'

'You actually saved your brother's life when Imhotep made that cave collapse on him, didn't you?' said Alex.

'Yes, I... I suppose I did,' said Fadil. 'But I was just doing what any older brother would do.'

'Any older brother would try to do it, but not every older brother would succeed,' said Alex. 'You did, Fadil.'

'And remember, what others think of you does not decide who you are,' said Yanit. 'Only you can do that.'

'Okay, so let's take a vote on whether we think Fadil should be on the Supreme Council,' said Alex. 'After that, he can decide whether he wants to stay... unless we kick him off, of course. I vote yes, he should be on the Supreme Council.'

'I vote the same way,' said Yanit. 'How about you, Fadil?'

'Very well,' Fadil laughed, 'I vote yes as well – I'll stay on the Supreme Council.'

'You've made the right decision, man,' Alex told him. 'As a trio, we'll soon whip the Medjai Order into shape! And please, I want you both to feel free to come and use my private bathroom whenever you want. I feel really awkward about having it, to be honest with you. I'd be just as happy to use the communal shower, like I always did before.'

Fadil adopted a slightly uncomfortable expression. Yanit glanced at him, and smiled in amusement.

'Okay, I think we'd better break up this meeting now,' said Alex. 'I've just remembered, I was supposed to meet the Minoatur in the Great Cavern first thing this morning.'

'He must not be surprised that you haven't turned up,' said Fadil. 'Everyone knows what happened last night... and they're in no doubt that you're truly the Supreme Medjai, Alex.'

They all stood up and headed towards the door. Alex and Fadil shook hands and clapped each other on the shoulder, then Fadil tactfully withdrew from the room. Yanit took Alex's hand in hers, and fixed him with a doting expression.

'I'll never forget last night, Alex,' she said.

'Neither will I,' Alex assured her.

'The Scarab called you my hero,' said Yanit. 'He was trying to be sarcastic of course, but actually he hit the nail right on the head. You've always been _a_ hero; I know that. But when you were kneeling there in front of the Scarab, chained and seemingly powerless, I knew you had something up your sleeve and I knew you were going to save me; that's when you truly became _my_ hero.'

Alex smiled, then they both moved their heads together and their lips met again. After a few seconds, Yanit pulled away. Alex gave her a quizzical expression; she reached up and unwound her headscarf, which she cast aside as she shook out her long black hair.

'I don't think I'll be needing that anymore,' she said.

'I'm glad,' Alex beamed at her. 'You know, you did pretty well yourself last night. Not just any Medjai could have brought down the Scarab like you did.'

'I didn't realise you saw that.'

'Of course I did.'

'Well, however you cut it, I'd have been eviscerated if it wasn't for you,' said Yanit, 'and there's nothing you can say to stop me thanking you for it for the rest of my life!'

She kissed him again.

'Hey,' Alex laughed, 'I'm not complaining.'

He lunged forward to resume the kiss, and the two of them stood in the doorway in a passionate clinch until the Minotaur barged into the room.

'So,' he said, 'this is why you're so late for our appointment!'

Alex forced himself to pull away from Yanit, and smiled sheepishly at the Minotaur.

'Sorry,' he said. 'You, er... you did hear about what happened last night, right?'

'Of course I did,' said the Minotaur. 'I am most curious to know how the Scarab managed to find us.'

Alex and Yanit exchanged a look.

'That doesn't matter now,' said Alex. 'He's been put on ice, permanently. That's the main thing.'

'Yes, I suppose you're right,' said the Minotaur. 'Do you still wish to join me for a training session?'

'Yeah, let's go for it,' said Alex. 'I want to investigate this new healing power I seem to've developed.'

'How do you plan to do that?' said the Minotaur. 'Cut off your little toe and see if it grows back?'

'I hope that was a joke,' said Yanit.

'It must have been a joke,' said Alex.

'I don't make jokes,' said the Minotaur. 'Come on; let's get on with it.'

* * *

Alex and the Minotaur entered the Great Cavern.

'So, Yanit's a girl, then,' the Minotaur remarked.

'Yeah, she is,' Alex grinned.

'I hope you are not going to allow your relationship with her to distract you from more practical matters.'

'She's not a distraction – she's a necessity. She grounds me... and so does Fadil. I need them both... in slightly different ways.'

'Hmm, well, I suppose you know best,' said the Minotaur. 'Let's start this little session by giving you a convincing wound, shall we? We can check on its progress as we go.'

The Minotaur produced a knife from his belt. Alex eyed it suspiciously.

'You don't really want to cut my toe off, do you?' he asked.

'No,' said the Minotaur, smiling sightly. 'Just a little prick should do.'

Alex made a face.

The Minotaur sighed and said, 'Where _do_ you want me to cut you?'

'Um... my chest,' said Alex. 'The right pec, I think. If it _does_ leave a scar, that'd be a cool place to have one.'

'If you say so,' said the Minotaur. 'Open your shirt, then.'

Alex did so. The Minotaur slashed his knife in one smooth motion. Alex squeaked shrilly.

'Is this the Supreme Medjai, who squeals like a pig upon receiving a tiny nick like that?' the Minotaur said teasingly.

'I'll show you what the Supreme Medjai does,' Alex said significantly, buttoning his shirt back up as he spoke. 'How about a sparring session?'

'My pleasure,' said the Minotaur.

* * *

The Minotaur crashed into the wall of the cavern and landed heavily on his backside. As he reached up to rub his aching head, he saw Alex approaching him with obvious intent.

'Enough,' said the Minotaur, holding up his right hand. 'I need to rest for a moment. I can clearly see that if I'm to be any use to you as a sparring partner, I'm going to have to undertake some training of my own.'

'Are you kidding?' said Alex. 'That was a great workout! You're even better than the Scarab!'

'I am not providing enough of a challenge for you,' the Minotaur insisted. 'We need to do something about that, otherwise our time together will be pointless. Perhaps we should try some meditation next – I believe I am still more adept than you in that pursuit, at least.'

'I'll tell you something else you're adept at,' said Alex. 'Guarding stuff! I know what you said yesterday, and I still say it was nonsense. I have something in my back pocket that needs guarding, and you're the one I want to guard it for me.'

'What is it?'

Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out the Scarab Amulet. The Minotaur frowned.

'I don't want to leave this where any old archaeologist with too much curiosity can stumble over it and release the Scarab!' said Alex. 'The Scarab Amulet is going to stay here, and we are going to make sure that no one ever touches it again!'

'A wise notion,' said the Minotaur, 'but I'm still far from convinced that I -'

'Stop it!' said Alex. 'I know you can do this. You do believe in me, don't you?'

'Of course I believe in you, Alex. But -'

'And I believe in you, so you _have_ to believe in yourself! The Scarab Amulet isn't the only thing I want you to guard. I'm planning to keep the Medallion of the Medjai down here, after I've finished unpacking my suitcases and I've extricated it from my stack of underpants; and you know my grandpa's gone on a quest to recover a load of lost Medjai artefacts, don't you? Ardeth gave him a shopping list.'

'I am aware of the arrangement, yes.'

'Well, I figure he's gonna bring us a ton of stuff that needs guarding! I want to put it all here in the Great Cavern, and I want you to be its keeper. If you don't want to be a guard, think of yourself as a treasurer! We'll give you a title – something like Guardian of the Medjai Treasure.'

'That does have a pleasant ring to it,' said the Minotaur. 'Very well, Alex; I agree to be your treasurer.'

'Great,' Alex grinned. 'As your first task, do you think you could find some kind of box to keep the Scarab Amulet in? I'm going to see about getting hold of some concrete, so we can encase the damned thing and seal it up in there.'

'I'm sure such an arrangement can be fairly easily achieved.'

'Good. Should we take a look at my chest wound before we start meditating?'

'Yes.'

Alex unbuttoned the top of his shirt and peered downwards. The Minotaur nodded in approval.

'Quite amazing,' he remarked. 'It looks like it has been healing for about a day, although it cannot really be more than a single hour.'

'Cool,' said Alex. 'I wonder what other snazzy powers I'm gonna develop in the near future.'

'We have no way of knowing,' said the Minotaur, 'but I'm sure there will be more. Now, let's meditate.'

'Okay,' said Alex.

* * *

Ardeth Bay arrived in Alex's room to find Alex standing in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection and prodding his chest.

'Be warned, Alex,' Ardeth announced himself. 'You remember the story of Narcissus, don't you?'

'I'm not admiring myself, Ardeth,' Alex laughed. 'I'm examining my right pec. Look at that – smooth as a baby's fanny!'

'Are you sure you're not admiring yourself?'

'There was a knife wound there earlier! It's totally gone now.'

'I see,' said Ardeth. 'Well, that is good news. Did you give yourself this wound?'

'Not exactly,' said Alex. 'The Minotaur did it.'

'Part of your new training schedule, no doubt.'

'Yeah, exactly.'

'Well, you certainly haven't wasted any time in bringing your plans to fruition,' said Ardeth. 'I know that Fadil and Yanit are both over the moon to be on your Supreme Council, and the Minotaur feels honoured to have been chosen as your personal guru. However, it seems that you don't really need me anymore.'

'Oh Ardeth, don't be like that,' said Alex. 'You're still in charge of the Medjai training programme – I have no intention of interfering with your schedule.'

'I'm glad to hear it,' said Ardeth, smiling. 'I must admit, I did start to worry at one point that you had entirely lost faith in my training programme.'

'Well... I guess I did, for a while,' Alex admitted. 'I kinda blamed it for making me lose confidence in myself, and then for making me have too much confidence in myself... but I've come to realise that my own character defects were to blame for that... mainly.'

'We all have a journey to go on, Alex,' said Ardeth. 'So far yours has not been easy, but it has been most admirable... and I'm sure it will continue to be so.'

'Thanks, Ardeth.'

'I just saw Yanit wandering around with her hair loose and her... well, without her strapping on. Is that your doing?'

'It's _her_ doing. But yeah, I encouraged her to do it.'

'I am glad. She told me she was not ready to abandon her disguise when _I_ first encouraged her to do so; you must have the magic touch, Alex.'

'Oh, well,' Alex laughed, 'I don't know about that.'

'I understand that you and Yanit have become intimate,' said Ardeth.

'We're a couple now, if that's what you mean.'

'Yes, I see. I hope you will be careful, Alex. Fools rush in, as they say.'

'Hey – we've known each other almost a year,' said Alex, 'and we're not rushing into anything, okay?'

'Fine, fine – it's none of my business, really,' said Ardeth. 'I was hoping to discuss the arrangements for your investiture, if you can spare the time. Or have you and the Supreme Council voted to cancel the whole thing?'

'Oh no, we're not cancelling it. Well, unless Yanit and Fadil both want to cancel it and they decide to bring it up with me, but I don't see why they would. But _I_ definitely want to have it!'

'I'm glad to hear you say that with such conviction, Alex – you didn't seem too keen on the idea at first, it appeared to me.'

'Yeah, well, now I _am_ keen on it,' said Alex, 'and I _do_ want to discuss the arrangements. I have a whole load of stuff I want to say to the Elders and their students... and I think you'll find it very interesting, Ardeth.'


End file.
